The meteoroid that lit up the skyin March was a bolide meteor, which is a special type of bright meteor that explodes in a bright flash at the end. It can also result in sonic booms, which are noises that occur faster than the speed of sound, according to the American Meteor Society.

The meteor was estimated to be about the size of a golf cart and weigh two metric tons, according to Waddell. Based on calculations, scientists expect the largest fragments to measure five inches across and weigh 4.5 kilograms.

Scientists say it’s the largest meteorite fall they have tracked in 21 years of radar data.

“We’re definitely interested in it, because it’s such a rare and fascinating event, but NASA has an interest in it because of the composition,” Waddell said.

Scientists believe the meteor could have had volcanic origins on another planet.

Dr. Marc Fries, a cosmic dust curator with NASA, spearheaded the effort to track the meteorite’s trajectory on radar to where it fell in the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary, which includes 3,188 square miles off the coast of the Olympic Peninsula.

A collection of radar data shows&nbsp;falling meteorites.&nbsp;The blue/green/gray pixels are reflections of radar energy off of falling meteorites, collected over a period of about 10 minutes by three different radars.&nbsp;(Photo: NASA)

The horizontal layers&nbsp;towards the bottom of the image are the cloud cover that was present at the time. The top portion shows the column of meteorites falling into the clouds below.&nbsp;(Photo: NASA)

The Nautilus expedition used two remotely operated vehicles to search for meteorite fragments that fell 120 feet to the continental shelf, which is mostly sand and mud. The vehicle uses several tools to search for fragments, including new technology that acts like a magnetic rake to attract metallic pieces.

Researchers believe there will be about 2.6 meteorite fragments per 10 square meters of sea floor, according to Jenny Waddell, sanctuary research coordinator at the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

The meteorite search is part of the Nautilus’ six-month expedition to conduct ocean research from British Columbia to the Hawaiian Islands.

If crews recover any meteorite pieces, they will be transferred to the Smithsonian for scientific use.

When Fries and other researchers return, they will give two public presentations about their findings in Port Angeles and Aberdeen: